Force Commander

"He who stands with me shall be my brother."

The Force Commander leads his brother Space Marines into the maelstrom of battle, wielding the mighty Daemonhammer, imbued with the righteous fury of the Emperor. Skilled in close combat, and capable of taking a lot of damage, his superior hit points allow him to serve as a shield for more expensive units, as his combat skill is less than that of some other Commanders, such as the Chaos Lord.

Tactics

The Force Commander is the primary hero for the Space Marines and his main function is to enhance the damage of surrounding troops. Used wisely, the Force Commander can outshoot and outmelee other commanders or even vehicles while boasting tremendous battlefield influence.

With an impressive 1875 HP from the beginning, the Force Commander is among the most durable commanders in the game. Only the Ork Warboss and fully upgraded Necron Lord have more hit points than an upgraded Force Commander. This impressive durability compensates for the need of the Force Commander to close in to deal effective damage and allows him to draw fire which would otherwise target Tactical Space Marines. In fact, due to this reserve of hit points, the Force Commander will win a direct shootout with the Tau Commander if both shoot to the death.

Impressive in melee, the Force Commander's distinctive trademark is the property of being able to stun his enemies. This effect is short-lived but extremely noticeable when it does trigger. The Space Marine Chaplain also shares this stunning property and utilizing both commanders together is very effective in triggering the stun properties. This stunning can apply to vehicles as well.

Vitally necessary for ensuring the most use out of your Force Commander are the Wargear: Power Weapons and Wargear: Plasma Pistols researches at the Armoury and Commander Veteran Upgrades at the Sacred Artifact. The Plasma Pistol is an incredible asset in ranged fire, while the Power Weapons upgrade grants the Force Commander the powerful Daemonhammer. The upgrades at the Sacred Artifact upgrade the Daemonhammer rather than the Power Sword, so having the correct weapon is essential. The Daemonhammer is also dramatically more effective versus vehicles and daemons, as well as having a 100% accuracy rate as compared to 80% accuracy on the Power Sword. The Daemonhammer retains the stunning properties of the Power Sword, so there is no loss in upgrading.

In the mid-game, the Force Commander is better left on ranged stance due to the large number of high-powered anti-commander melee units such as Khorne Berzerkers, Ork Nobz, and Necron Flayed Ones. Allowing the Force Commander to be caught by those squads will result in the loss of your 260 50 investment quickly. Attaching the Force Commander to a Tactical Space Marine squad or to Grey Knights is preferable during most of this time period.

Attaching the Force Commander to a squad of Grey Knights will also grant him morale immunity, which is extremely helpful in combatting super units of other races, who would otherwise break the Force Commander early into the battle.

Utilizing the Chaplain and Librarian together with the Force Commander is a powerful combination. Using the trio on ranged stance with Plasma Pistols is a formidable offense, while approaching them in close combat is tricky due to their immense close-combat power and the Chaplain's healing auras. Using the three heroes in conjunction with a Skull Probe's Sabotage ability, a walker unit can be easily dispatched of. Killa Kans in particular are vulnerable to assault by the Force Commander and other heroes. Stun from the Skull Probe or distraction by another squad is necessary for vehicle takedown, though, as otherwise your own commanders will either break or be killed swiftly.

Late-game, a Force Commander is generally best attached to the durable Assault Terminators, though Grey Knights are a better complement for taking down daemons. When Assault Terminators teleport, the Force Commander will go with them, allowing for covert delivery into position for a prime Orbital Bombardment. As well, the stunning properties on the Daemonhammer complement the stunning properties on Assault Terminator Thunder Hammers, further enhancing the ability for that squad to lock down a troublesome unit.

The Force Commander also excels in a support role in the late-game due to the Inspiring Aura and Battle Cry abilities. Attaching the Force Commander in the midst of a large cluster of Heavy Weapon-equipped Tactical Space Marines and then using the Battle Cry will dramatically tip the battle in your favor. Also, the Force Commander is very effective against monster high uber units, such as the Bloodthirster and Avatar of Khaine. If the Force Commander does kill the Bloodthirster, he'll perform one of the most impressive sync kills in the game.

Most notably and most familiar to players is the iconic Orbital Bombardment ability of the Force Commander. Available upon completion of the Orbital Relay, the Force Commander has at his disposal a salvo of 15 Plasma Lances with which to disrupt infantry formations and assault buildings in a large radius. Infantry hit by a plasma lance will take approximately 100 damage and be flung a significant distance, including your own troops. Vehicles hit will take at least 400 damage per blast. Buildings hit by the lances will take 100 damage on average, though light buildings will receive four times that amount. This means that a bombardment focused solely on any building besides a Generator, Waaagh! Banner, or Listening Post will do approximately 1500 damage total. Keep that figure in mind when gauging which building to target with the Bombardment.

Orbital Bombardment

The Force Commander calls down a barrage from the orbiting Battle Barge. Over 30 seconds, 16 randomly distributed shots rain down in a radius of 12 around the targeted location. Each blast does powerful knockback (50-60 force). Orbital Bombardment has a 3.5 s setup time. Note that the initial shot does full damage to monster high, vehicle medium, and vehicle high, but all subsequent shots do the printed 25% damage.

Damage Values

Infantry

Vehicles

Buildings

Daemons

Base Damage

Low

Med

High

H.Med

H.Hi

Cmdr

Low

Med

High

Air

Low

Med

High

Med

High

Morale

Min

Max

Min.D

405-480

81-96

81-96

101-120

101-120

162-192

243-288

81-96

81-96

-

283-336

81-96

81-96

81-96

81-96

40

405

480

0

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Infantry

Vehicles

Buildings

Daemons

Base Damage

Low

Med

High

H.Med

H.Hi

Cmdr

Low

Med

High

Air

Low

Med

High

Med

High

Morale

Min

Max

Min.D

7080

1416

1416

1768

1768

2832

4228

1770

1770

-

4952

1416

1416

1416

1770

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{{{weapon_min_damage2}}}

{{{weapon_max_damage2}}}

{{{weapon_min_damage_value2}}}

Weapons

Bolt Pistol

Bolt Pistol

Damage Per Second Values

Infantry

Vehicles

Buildings

Daemons

Morale

Base Damage

Low

Med

High

H.Med

H.Hi

Cmdr

Low

Med

High

Air

Low

Med

High

Med

High

DPS

Base

Min

Max

Min.D

Initial DPS:

30.4

42.2

29.5

45.6

29.8

21.9

17.0

8.7

2.7

NA

34.2

6.4

2.7

44.3

10.9

2.1

4

50.0

60.0

2.5

Cost

Default Weapon

Range

25

Setup Time

None

Build Time

Default Weapon

Accuracy

85%

Refire Rate

0.8 s

Area of Effect

None

Requires

Nothing

Power Sword

Power Sword

Damage Per Second Values

Infantry

Vehicles

Buildings

Daemons

Morale

Base Damage

Low

Med

High

H.Med

H.Hi

Cmdr

Low

Med

High

Air

Low

Med

High

Med

High

DPS

Base

Min

Max

Min.D

Initial DPS:

45.4

96.1

88.3

103.8

89.0

61.1

37.1

31.1

8.7

NA

38.9

15.6

17.3

113.5

113.5

8.3

25

236.0

288.0

1.0

Cost

Default Weapon

Range

Melee

Setup Time

None

Build Time

Default Weapon

Accuracy

80%

Refire Rate

1.5 s

Area of Effect

None

Requires

Nothing

Notes

When struck, there is a 50% chance to disable the target's movement for 2 s.